A Government Addicted to War, Blind to Its Limits - Haaretz Editorial
Israel's attempt to torpedo the agreement between the United States and Iran didn't work out well. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thought that attacking Beirut's Dahiyeh neighborhood on Sunday would result in an Iranian attack on Israel and the resumption of war, but his plan failed. Yet this fiasco by him and his government – coupled with the possibility that in their next military adventure, it's not certain Israel will be able to count on America – didn't lead them to recognize the limits of force or spawn any sense of humility in them.
The same folly is now repeating itself in Lebanon. Defense Minister Israel Katz was quick to announce that Israel's presence in Lebanon would continue "indefinitely," stressing, "we oppose an Israel Defense Forces withdrawal from Lebanon." National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also joined this dangerous display of arrogance, saying, "Trump's agreement is not binding" on Israel. And how could they manage without the third leg of this triad of destruction, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich? He asserted, "The agreement with Iran is bad for Israel and for the entire free world ... We will be put to the test in Lebanon. That is our war."
Instead of acceding to Lebanon's pragmatic, pro-Western government, which has sought (in an unprecedented manner) to launch negotiations in an effort to weaken Hezbollah, Israel preferred to continue fighting, weaken the government and bolster Hezbollah's status. Netanyahu's insistence on not withdrawing from southern Lebanon, even as he has been forced to engage in bizarre negotiations conducted by ambassadors with no authority, is one of the main reasons why Lebanon's government has been unable to secure any achievements against Hezbollah.
Israel appears to be trapped in a loop of strategic misunderstanding. Netanyahu refuses to understand with regard to Lebanon today what he refused to understand with regard to Iran earlier – when he scorned the nuclear agreement U.S. President Barack Obama signed with Iran in 2015, urged U.S. President Donald Trump to abandon that agreement three years later (spurring Tehran to start amassing enriched uranium) and then pushed for an attack on Iran twice over the last year. This he did even though Washington forced Israel to halt the 12-day war last June, and even though it was clear that when America resumed negotiations with Iran, the positions were identical to what they had been before that war.
Netanyahu and his government refuse to recognize the limits of force and the weakness of their own policies. By entrenching themselves in their militarism, they are lengthening the list of victims. And by their pointless confrontation with Trump, they are deepening the damage Israel is incurring in America.
Instead of shutting down fronts, they insist on keeping them open. And instead of enabling Israelis to lead somewhat normal lives after three nightmarish years, they prefer to perpetuate the state of emergency. We should never forget that Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas will continue to be our enemies. But it's also possible to find new partners and, with them and through them, pave paths to diplomatic agreements whose benefits would be far greater.
The above article is Haaretz's lead editorial, as published in the Hebrew and English newspapers in Israel.